Over on CVG they have a piece of an article about sex in games. In it, Bioware’s Greg Zeschuk addresses the controversy of the sex scene in their RPG Mass Effect. Around the time of the game’s release some in the mainstream press freaked over something that was actually pretty tame. Here’s a choice piece from the article:

When asked if games need to contain scenes of this nature, BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk told us: “I don’t think they need to have them, I think that in certain types of games it makes sense to have them.”

Dr. Greg goes on to explain how sex scenes are a good way of establishing an intimate relationship between characters. Well no shit, Gregory! Thanks for clearing that up, but it’s something many of us already knew. So who are the people he’s explaining this to? Allow me to introduce you to what I call “the nerd factor.” This will contain some sweeping generalizations, so hold onto your space helmets.

Mass Effect

The only people who don’t seem to know that sex in games can make sense are folks in the mainstream press and nerds. We still have the perception in our society that nerds and sex don’t mix. And for the most part, this is true. I can’t tell you how many nerds I’ve hung out with who totally freak when the topic of sex arises. I can remember hanging with a nerd group in film school and they all flipped when I mentioned I was going to a fetish con. Most nerds simply don’t get how sex can be a legitimate part of their games. For nerds and puberty-age kids, sex in games is titillation, not something that’s emotionally resonant.

This brings me back to the Bioware issue. The problem with putting serious, emotionally mature sexuality in Bioware games is that these games are made for the hardcore nerd crowd. Games like Mass Effect and the upcoming Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins are for the elite nerds. These are people for whom getting laid is either a rarity or not even a consideration.

The Bioware founders, Dr. Greg and Dr. Ray, are leading commanders among nerds and pencil-neck geeks. They’ve got to be commended for bringing serious sex to their audience. Unfortunately, I think a lot of their audience is going to latch onto the titilation and not get the emotional factors. This already happened with Mass Effect and I have no doubt it will happen again with Bioware’s future projects. While I think what they’re doing is great, I also think they’re doing it for the wrong crowd.